NEWS 01" THE WEEK.
PARLIAMENT was released from its labours yesterday. Few that have been convened in England will be longer remembered, or more honourably. It-met in November 1826 ; so that it was only in its fourth year when sent to its final reckoning. The first ses- sion was passed in comparative inaction, from the unexpected ill- ness of Lord LIVERPOOL, the Ministerial intrigues consequent on his incapacity, and the weakness of Mr. CANNING in the Upper House. The only two measures of importance contemplated by Mr. CANNING came to nought ; one by the perversity of the people fur whose behoof it was intended—we allude to the inter- ference in behalf of the Portuguese Constitutionalists ; the other the Corn Bill—by the opposition of the Peers, marshalled and led on by the Duke of WELLINGTON. The session of 1827-8 was distinguished by the first breach in that mound of in- tolerance which had withstood so many assaults—it wit- nessed the repeal of the Test Acts. This great measure of policy and justice, forced upon Ministers by the Lower House, seems to have first opened their eyes to the necessity, if they meant to continue in power, of cultivating the affections of the liberal part of that branch of the Legislature. Had the Oppo- sition not imposed the repeal on the Cabinet, the great ground of congratulation in his Majesty's speech of yesterday would in all probability have still been wanting. The Cabinet having once re- ceived a liberal impulse, moved forward with a rapidity and deci- Sion which those who gave it had not ventured to anticipate. If they had been ever so strongly inclined to stand still, the un- Precedented event of the election of a Catholic member, in the face of the laws which disqualified Catholics, must have 'served to convince them of the hopelessness of the attempt. It was but a cast of the dice whether the Cabinet should be compelled to repeal the Catholic Disqualification Acts, as in the former session they herLthe Test Acts, or should frankly stand forth as the ori- • Dilators of thai g. cat measure. Happily for their fame, they chose the latter plan. In respectcommencement of the reign of sound wisdom and true policy, they-divide the crown with the Opposition ; but in respect of the fulness of its coming in, the merit and the honour are their own. The last session has not been wanting in' good deeds, more than its immediate- predecessors. The two great measures which distinguished the latter were measures of high policy ; 1)ut the repeal of the Beer Tax was no unimportant act, though in point of extended utility it fell short of those that went before it. Keeping these three measures in view, but especially the first two, we think it would be difficult to find any Parliament since the Revolution to which, with all its failings—and they are neither few nor small —the people of England have been so deeply indebted. It is not unworthy of notice, that all these measures have been of one character—they have all been measures of repeal. They offer but a poor panegyric on the "wisdom of our ancestors." With the exception of the Beer Bill, there is little to record of the session that has just terminated. It has dragged its slow length along for the last three month's, equally incapable of rest and of progress. What it has done, it has not done well. The refusal of the Lords to listen to the prayers of those who called for an alteration of the Forgery Code, will not fail to be remembered against them. We are not much disappointed in Sir JAMES SCARLETT'S Law improvements, for we expected little from that quarter. To the next Parliament we look forward without fear certainly, —there is no fearfor England,—but at the same time with no very fervent hopes of rapid amelioration. Indeed, in our system of representation, whatever change of men a new election may fur- nish us with, it can seldom produce any marked change of senti- ment. So long as the aristocracy nominate the House of Com- mons, it is worse than useless to suppose that popular feelings* will predominate there.'
The two. Important features connected with the demise of Par • liament are the Speech of the King, and the Speech of the Speaker of the Commons. We give these documents in the order in which they were delivered. • The SPEAKER having. taken his position at the bar, addressed his Majesty in the following terms.
" May it please your Majesty,—We, your Majesty's most faithful Com- mons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled, attend your Majesty for the first time since your Majesty's accession to the Throne of these realms ; and, Sir, it would be difficult for me adequately to express, and impossible to overstate, the loyal and dutiful attachment which we, in common with the rest of your Majesty's faithful subjects, bear towards your Majesty's person and Government.
" Sir,—We are about to close a session of unusual length and unprece- dented labour ; confidently, however, anticipating that the objects we have effected will, in their results, be productive o'sf relief to a large class of the community, and of general satisfaction to the whole nation.
" Sir,—In the gracious Speech delivered by the Lords Commissioners, on the part of his late Majesty, at the commencement of this session, much of deep concern to the present happiness and the permanent wel- fare of the country were recommended to our early, earnest, and most deliberate consideration. To these recommendations, with anxious zeal and persevering industry, we have addressed our best attention.
" We have been enabled to effect great reductions in the public ex. penditure, without impairing the efficiency of our naval and military es- tablishments; and a large reduction of taxation, without endangering the public credit. We have, in following up our labour of the preceding ses- sion, in the amelioration of the Criminal Law, consolidated and amelio- rated the laws relative to the crime of forgery ; and, in mitigating their severity, we presume to hope we have increased their efficiency. We have also applied ourselves to great and comprehensive improvements in the general administration of justice, in the Common Law Courts of West- minster Hall, the Principality of Wales, and in Scotland, adapting the jurisdiction of the higher Courts to the wants and just demands of this moral, industrious, enlightened nation.
" These, Sir, are the leading and most important subjects to which our inquiries were directed, and our labours applied ; and if our wishes and exertions be responded to, by the benefits looked for from the measures we have perfected, I may conclude with a confident hope, that we shall have entitled ourselves to your Majesty's gracious approbation, and to the respect and gratitude of the whole nation.'
When the Speaker had ceased, and the Royal Assent had been given to several bills which still waited for it, the King read as follows.
" MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,—On this first occasion of meeting you, I am desirous of repeating to you, in person, my cordial thanks for those assurances of sincere sympathy and affectionate attachment which you conveyed to me on the demise of my lamented brother, and on my acces- sion to the throne of my ancestors.
" I ascend that throne with a deep sense of the sacred duties which devolve upon me, with a firm reliance upon the affection of my faithful subjects, and on the support and co-operation of Parliament ; and with_ an humble and earnest prayer to Almighty God, that he will prosper my: anxious endeavours to promote the happiness of a free and loyal people. "'It is with the utmost satisfaction that I find myself enabled to con- gratulate• yap upon the general tranquillity of Europe. This tranquillity it will be the object of my constant endeavourS to preserve, and the assur- ances which I receive,from my Allies, and from all Foreign Powers, are dictated in.a similar spirit.
" I trust that the good understanding which prevails upon subjects of common interest, and the deep concern which every state must have in maintaining the peace of the world, will insure tb-, satkfactoi y settlement of those matters which still remain to be fr..a"*.;..drznigetts ".GENTLEMEN pi, THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, —I thank you for the sup-- plies which you have granted,- and for the provisions which- you have made, for the several branches of the public service during that part of the present year which most elapse before a new Parliament can be as- sembled. I cordially congratulate you on the diminution which has taken place in the expenditure of the country, on the reduction of the charge of the public debt, and on the relief which you have afforded to my people by the repeal of some of those taxes which have heretofore
pressed heavily upon them. . " You may rely upon my prudent and economical administration of the supplies which you have placed at my disposal, and upon my readiness to concur in every diminution in the public charges which can he effected consistently with the dignity of the Crown, the maintenance of national faith, and the permanent interests of the country.
"My LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,—I cannot put an end to this session, and take my leave of the present Parliament, without expressing my cor- dial thanks for the zeal which you have manifested on so many occasions for the welfare of my people. You have wisely availed yourselves of the
happy opportunity of general peace and internal repose, calmly to re0 view many of the laws and judicial estahlishments of the country; and you have applied such cautious and well-considered reforms as are con- sistent with the spirit of our venerable institutions, and are calculated to facilitate and expedite the administration of justice. You have removed the civil disqualifications which affected numerous and important classes of my
people. While I declare, on this solemn occasion, my fixed intention to maintain to the utmost of my power the Protestant reformed religion esta- blished by law, let me at the same time express my earnest hope that the
animosities which have prevailed on account of religious distinctions may be forgotten ; and that the decision of Parliament withrespect to those dis- tinctions having been irrevocably pronounced, my faithful subjects will unite with me in advancing the great objects contemplated by the Legis- lature, and in promoting that spirit of domestic concord and peace which constitutes the surest basis of our national strength and happiness."
On the speech of his Majesty, we feel it our duty to offer a very few. remarks. We do not know whether some- . thing of the popular feeling, that the Kines, plain). honest,: winning ways have so universally diffused, mingles with our judgment of this document ;. but there is a soma o- sincerity and straightforwardness about it, that- we do..not recollect to have perceived in any similar address. It reads more English than Kings' speeches are wont to read. We may refer, in proof- of this, to thesecond sentence, which is as musical in its flow as it is estimable in its sentiments ; and to the last paragraph in which the improvement that remains to be made of the great measure of Catholic relief is so rationally and liberally inculcated. There is but one phrase which we would have liked to see left out—we allude to that where his Majesty says he will concur in every di- Minution of the public charge which can be made consistently with the dignity of the Crown. To the dignity of the Crown, in the true sense, we are as friendly as the most zealous courtier that flutters in the shine of it ; but as Ministers employ the word, it has borne, as far as our remembrance- goes, no other meaning than the trappings of the Crown, with very many of which we conscientiously believe the Crown might part, and look all the better for the want of them. This was not a topic that could be urged with much hope of suc- cess with his late Majesty. He was ambitious—and no king ever succeeded better—of being the first gentleman in his domi- nions. Gold sticks and gold lace and tags are in some measure indispensable to a gentleman's establishment. But unless we mis- read the actings of WILLIAM the Fourth, he is content with being the first man of England ; and for the due support of that cha- racter, no such externals of petty pomp are required. He who can walk the streets of his capital, and who does not disdain to hold converse with the humblest of his subjects, could gain no additional love or veneration from all the array which the most lavish expenditure can purchase, that ever was supplied by a hard- working people. The operations of the present week have been limited to the completion of a few of the measures which the tardiness of the Upper House had still to overcome, even at the eleventh hour of the Parliament's existence. Sir JONAH BARRINGTON'S delin- quency has at length been visited with an address for his removal from a station for which he was so notoriously unfit. East Ret- ford, which has been waiting for its quietus from the mercy if not the justice of the Lords, for so many months, has at last been erased from the list of boroughs. A jobbing Duke is now substi- tuted for the poor rogues who formerly enjoyed the privilege of buying and selling and making gain of the manufacture of members of Parliament.
PRINCIPAL BUSINESS OF THE WEEK.
1. E A CT MRTFORD. The second reading of the East Retford Disfranchisement Bill was moved on Monday, by the Marquis of
SALISBURY.
Lord DURHAM moved as an amendment, that the bill be read that day six months.
He denied that in any one instance of the present case bribery had been proved. What was bribery ? The Bribery Act showed that money paid to a voter after an election, without any previous contract, was not bribery.
All that could be alleged, therefore, was that there had been corruption. And what was the amount of that corruption ? In some instances twenty, in others forty pounds. Was it not a frequent occurrence after an elec- tion for a county or a borough, that the successful candidate, if a Minis- terial member, obtained places in the Excise or Customs, or commissions, or livings, for those by whom he had been supported in the contest ? Was that corruption ? Again, if a member of that or of the other House of Parliament obtained the patronage of Ministers in return for his vote, was that corruption ? But what a distinction .between the individual,
Peer or Commoner., who received three or four thousand a-year for his suppuit, eta the vdler at a borough who received twenty or forty pounds!
Was the latter to be considered as corrupt and disgraced, and the former to be proclaimed, in the language of Scripture, as a man "whom the King delighted to honour."
The LORD CHANCELLOR supported the bill. The Earl of ELDON declared, that to presume bribery, as this bill did, would be to overthrow the doctrines of Lord Mansfield and the great men of former times.
Lord WYNFORD thought that bribery had been clearly proved. Earl GREY opposed the bill.
Was it not notorious, that at that moment, when they were affecting to purify the borough of East Retford, because the electors took twenty guineas for their votes—was it not notorious that Peers and other per- sons were receiving 1,200 or 1,800 guineas for a seat in Parliament ? He called on their Lordships not to practise that species of hypocrisy any longer; and not to deal with a particular borough, when he would under-
take to bring before them many much worse cases. The present proceed- ing. was either a judicial act for the punishment of a particular borough ;
or it was a legislative enactment, with a view to a general regulation to correct abuses. If the latter were the case, why select East Retford? Why not go to the general principles of the representations of the people, and correct abuses ?
The Duke of WELLINGTON lamented very much that the bill had been brought into Parliament; it was not his act, but, being there, it was his duty to consider what should be done with it.
The general corruption charged- in the preamble of the bill had been proved, and if the crime was not proved, certainly their Lordships would inflict no punishment. There was no noble lord who attended to the evidence but must have seen that, in every case where the candidate lodged the money usually paid at elections, he succeeded, but that in every case where he failed to do so he lost his election. There was evi- dence before them that the successful candidate always lodged the money, and that in no case it returned into his pocket, but uniformly went into the pockets of the electors. The question was one of policy and expe- diency, as well as of right. The House had to consider whether or not they would, in this case, pursue or deviate from the course which they pursued on all similar occasions. It was to be remembered that they dis- franchised,„ao one,by„the preeantibill ; they roardriet in the votes of the adjoinnwhiundred: For Lord Durham's aniendinent, 7;; againstit, 29. The bile was 'then read. a. second time.. On Tuesday it teas. committed.
On the motion for going in to Committee, Lord WHARNCLIFFE Moved a series of resolutions,— First, that corruption had been proved against the borough of East Retford; secondly, that that borough ought to be excluded from the pri- vilege of representation ; thirdly, that the great wealth and population of Birmingham rendered it expedient that the right of electing two burgesses should be transferred from the borough of East Retford to that town ; and, fourthly, that these resolutions be communicated to the House of Commons by a conference. and that their concurrence be requested. Lord Wharncliffe said he did not mean to contend for the general principle of communicating the elective franchise to the great towns. But here Parliament had a franchise to dispose of ;_ and the question was, to what place it was expedient to give it ? He admitted that all parts of the country were virtually represented ; and that, as the constitution of the House of Commons worked, there was no interest in the country which was not represented. Still, when an opportunity such as the present offered itself, to give the elective franchise to a great town, was a check to wild notions of extensive Parliamentary! Reform. He was far from wishing for sweeping reform ; but he wished that by degrees members should be admitted into the House of Commons from populous places now unrepresented, in order to defend the interests and state the grievances of those places. Such a proceeding would gradually absorb in the House of Commons individuals who would be ten times more dangerous if retained in the unrepresented places. Of this fact a strong instance existed at the present moment. If Parliament refused to accede to this proposition, could there be any doubt that the effect would be to increase the cry for Reform ?
At the conclusion of Lord Wharncliffe's speech, some delay and much conversation took place in consequence of the Earl of JER- SEY having moved the adjournment of the House, that their Lord- ships might have an opportunity of holding a conference with the Commons to determine on the day for carrying up an address request- ing the removal of Sir Jonah Barrington from his office of Judge of the Admiralty Court in Ireland. Lord Jersey had moved the ad- journment of the House without the usual addition of " during pleasure,"—which was carried ; and it was now contended by Lord DURHAM, that the debate on the bill could not be resumed, and that the bill was consequently lost. Lord HOLLAND, however, argued on the other hand, that it was a mere irregularity, and that their Lordships had it in their power to resume the discussion im- mediately on a motion for that purpose, because no day was named until which the adjournment was to take place. The House, anxious to get out of the difficulty, embraced this view of the question. The Marquis of SALISBURY observed, that if they once admitted innovations, such as that contained in Lord Wharncliffe's propo- sition, it was impossible to say where they should stop short of universal suffrage. It was by making small concessions like these that they were afterwards called on to make great sacrifices. That was the case with the Roman Catholics, and soit would be with Reform.
Earl DUDLEY, Lord DACRE, Lord GODERICH, and Lord CAL- THORPE, supported the resolutions. Lord ELLENBOROUGH and the Marquis of BUTE opposed them. The Duke of WELLINGTON did not deny that inconvenience might sometimes be felt from Birmingham being unrepresented in Parliament ; he believed, however, that more inconveniences would result from adopting; this measure, than from their remain- ing unrepresented. Notwithstanding Birmingham and other towns were not represented, they had grown in wealth and influence in the country. He begged their Lordships to remember the conse- quences, then, which might ensue to the Constitution of giving to that town and similar towns increased weight in the county.
For going into Committee, 39 ; against it, 16. Lord Wharncliffe's resolutions were then negatived without a division.
On Wednesday the bill was read a third time, and passed. Lord DURHAM and the Earl of WESTMORLAND protested. 2. FORGERY BILL. On Tuesday, Sir ROBERT PEEL moved that the House of Commons take into consideration the amend- ments made by the Lords on the Forgery Bill. He hoped that the amendments would be agreed to without delay, because, as the Bill was at present worded, it would come into operation on Wednesday the 21st July. Mr. F. BUXTON was disposed to reject the amendments. At the same time, that end could only be secured by throwing delays in the way of the measure—a course of which the House would not willingly avail itself. The better course, therefore, seemed to be to follow up the amendment of the Lords by another amend- ment, limiting the operation of the bill to one year, so as to render it inevitable that the Secretary of State should, next session, revive the subject. Mr. STEWART moved that the Lords' amendments to the bill be taken into consideration on this day fortnight. This was negatived by 74 to 10. The House again divided, upon the motion of Mr. Stewart, that the amendment of the Lords be rejected. For the rejection, 28 ; against it, 67. The several amendments were then agreed to, and the bill ordered to be carried up to the Lords. 3. LIBEL LAW AMENDMENT BILL. The Lord CHANcErzoft having explained the nature of this bill, moved that it be com- mitted. Lord HOLLAND objected strongly to the increased amount of the recognizances which the bill required of the proprietors of newspapers. The law of libel altogether was in a most anoma.,- Ions state.
Lord WYNFoRo.agreed in this latter opinion, and invited Lord Holland to take up the subject next session.
He could not avoid expressing his utter abhorrence of the libels which had recently appeared in some of the public prints on the first Magistrate of the land ; libels, the impurity of which appeared to him to be utterly Incompatible with the preservation and wellbeing of our present form of Government. (Cheers.) In the Committee, Lord HOLLAND moved an amendment for doing away with all recognizances and securities. Negatived without a division.
On Wednesday the bill was read a third time and passed.
4. SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES.. In the House of Lords on Monday, Earl GROSVENOR gave notice, that at an early period of the next session of Parliament, he would move for a bill to declare that all the children born of slave parents Mould be free. He thought, moreover, that some period should be fixed for the abo- lition of slavery altogether.
The Duke of WELLINGTON observed, that any act declaring the children of slave parents free, would be found impracticable. How were such children to be supported ?—It was the earnest desire of his Majesty's Government to ameliorate the condition of the slaves, but the utmost caution was necessary in all such experi- ments.
In the House of Commons, Mr. F. BUXTON, in presenting cer- tain petitions against slavery, gave it as his opinion that no good result could ever be expected until the people of this country took up this question, and instead of sending gentlemen connected with the West India interest to Parliament, send only such men as would pledge themselves to effect the abolition of this hateful sla- very. Sir A. GRANT defended the body to which he belongs, and en- larged upon the rights of property, which had been recognized even in Mr. Canning's resolutions—of which Mr. Buxton seemed strangely forgetful. Mr. BUXTON denied that he was forgetful of compensation, for one of his resolutions alluded to that subject ; and he hardly ever addressed the House on this matter without stating, that though the planters had no claims as against the negro, they had as against this country. Mr. W. SMITH contended that slavery was one of the mitt pro- hibit% for which no compensation could be claimed ; and instanced the case of the Liverpool traders, to whom no compensation had been allowed, and whose offence had not only been declared rob- hely and murder, but piracy.
5. SIR JONAH BARRINGTON. On Monday, the address voted by the House of Commons, declaring Sir Jonah Barrington to have been guilty of malversation in his office of Judge of the High Court of Admiralty in Ireland, and recommending his removal, was agreed to by the House of Lords. The address was afterwards presented ; and the King, regretting the occasion which made it necessary, promised to comply with the request.
6. COAL TRADE. A report of the Coal Trade Committee having been laid on the table of the House of Lords, the Marquis of LONDONDERRY stated, that among the results at which the Com- mittee had arrived, was a conviction that, in order to prevent frauds, coals should be sold by weight instead of measure. The coal-meter system, too, should be abolished, and better arrange- ments in the coal trade introduced at the port of London. His Lordship denied that there was any combination among the coal- owners ; there was competition enough to protect the public interests.
